Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 71.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,959 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PTGX. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,107,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,250,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,503 shares of the company's stock worth $25,448,000 after purchasing an additional 39,850 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,099.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the company's stock worth $14,437,000 after buying an additional 310,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PTGX. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Protagonist Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,687,299.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 435,208 shares in the company, valued at $20,437,367.68. This trade represents a 15.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 1,906 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $78,107.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,903,275.12. The trade was a 3.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,847 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PTGX traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.69. 431,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,165. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 2.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.78. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.21 and a 12-month high of $48.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.05. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.76% and a return on equity of 34.68%. The company had revenue of $4.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.